Giants-Padres: San Francisco Once Again Tied for First Place

The Giants are once again tied with the Padres for first place in the NL West after beating them to win the series finale.

Tim Lincecum pitched well for the third time this month, allowing just one earned run in seven innings while striking out nine.

Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Giants an early lead, and they added on later: Jose Guillen hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning, and Lincecum hit a two-run single in the fourth inning.

Mat Latos, who had gone a major-league record 15 consecutive games with five-plus IP and two ER or fewer, lasted just four innings, giving up five runs.

The Giants went on to win the game 6-1, as they finished their road trip with a 7-3 record.

The key factor in the Giants' success against the Padres was their ability to contain Adrian Gonzalez. He was just 3-for-15 in the series without a single RBI or run.

Notes

Andres Torres is likely out for the season due to appendicitis. This will undoubtedly be a big blow to the Giants' offense (in spite of his recent struggles) but will be an even bigger blow to their defense. Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand, and Guillen might very well be the worst outfield defense in the majors. Hopefully, Nate Schierholtz and Cody Ross will get a lot of playing time. In a lineup with Ross in center, it'd be interesting to see who leads off...possibly Freddy Sanchez? Torres will be missed sorely...

Lincecum reached the 200-K plateau for the third consecutive year, becoming the fourth Giant in history to do so and the first Giant since Juan Marichal did it in four straight seasons from 1963-1966. He also took the NL lead in strikeouts with 208. He could become the third pitcher in the post-World War II era to lead the NL in strikeouts in three consecutive years, joining Warren Spahn and Randy Johnson.

The Giants rotation is on a serious roll: 11 quality starts in their last 14 games. On a similar note, the Giants' ERA this month is 1.84.

Four Giants (Burrell, Posey, Aubrey Huff, and Juan Uribe) had a multi-hit game on Sunday...nice to see after the Giants had batted .207 over the first nine games of this road trip.

The Giants are 8-3 in September. The Padres, meanwhile, have posted a 4-7 record this month.

After going four consecutive seasons ('05-'08) with records below .500, the Giants have clinched their second consecutive .500-plus season.

Here are the remaining schedules for the Giants and Padres.

Giants

Rest

Three vs. LAD

Three vs. MIL

Rest

Three @ CHC

Three @ COL

Rest

Three vs. ARI

Three vs. SD

Only six games left against winning teams...

Padres

Three @ COL

Four @ STL

Rest

Three @ LAD

Three vs. CIN

Four vs. CHC

Three @ SF

The Padres have just one more rest day, and they still have a couple of four-game series left. They are playing 13 more games against winning teams.